Blowpipe



April 1962 H. A. WHITE, JR 3,031,178

BLOWPIPE Filed Sept. 9, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR HERBERT A. WHITE Jr.

Attorney April 24, 1962 w n' JR 3,031,178

BLOWPIPE Filed Sept. 9, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 //Vl E/VTOR HERBERT A. WHITE Jr.

A Mar/13y 3,031,178 BLOWPIPE Herbert A. White, In, Pittsburgh, Pa, assignor to Esscolator Manufacturing Corporation, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Sept. 9, 1960, Ser. No. 54,871 2 Claims. (Cl. 266-41) This invention relates to a blowpipe and more particularly to a blowpipe for insertion between the tuyeres and gooseneck of a blast furnace for producing iron. The blowpipes commonly used have solid walls of cast iron, steel or stainless steel, and weigh approximately 180 to 200 pounds. The air passing through the blowpipe to the tuyere is heated so that the blowpipe also becomes hot. There is also loss of heat through the blowpipe wall so that the air blast temperature is somewhat reduced and heat is radiated to the surrounding atmosphere. This makes working conditions very disagreeable and results in accidents. In most cases the key pin is knocked out permitting the blowpipe to fall to the floor. Since the blowpipe must be removed every time a tuyere is changed or the furnace banked and the efliciency of the workmen is poor the annual labor cost is high. There is also considerable loss in production due to the time required to replace the blowpipe.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a blowpipe which is much lighter in weight than the conventional blowpipe and yet is insulated to prevent loss of heat to the surrounding atmosphere.

This and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view, partly in section, of the blowpipe of my invention installed in a blast furnace;

FIGURE 2 is a view, partly in section, showing details of the blowpipe;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken on the line III-III of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view showing a second modification of my invention;

FIGURE 5 is an end view of the blowpipe of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a view taken on the line VI-VI of FIG- URE 4.

Referring more particularly to FIGURES 1 to 3 of the drawings, reference numeral 2 indicates the wall of a blast furnace having an opening therein for a tuyere cooler 4. A tuyere 6 is received in the tuyere cooler 4 in the usual manner. A concave seat 8 is provided on the tuyere 6 around blast opening 10 for receiving one end of a blowpipe 12. The other end of the blowpipe 12 is supported on a convex seat 14 on the furnace end of penstock flange 16. It will be understood that the penstock flange may be replaced by other supporting means and the term will be used hereafter in this broad sense. According to my invention the blowpipe 12 includes an inner tube 18, preferably made of stainless steel, which provides an air blast opening 20. A tapered sleeve 22, preferably made of mild steel, is welded to the outside of tube 18 at the furnace end thereof. The taper on the outside of sleeve 22 provides more clearance for the blowpipe 12 within the cooler 4. The furnace ends of tube 18 and sleeve 22 are provided with a spherical convex surface 24 which matches and is received in the concave seat 8. A sleeve 26, preferably made of mild steel, is welded to the outside of tube 18 at the end adjacent flange 16. A concave spherical surface 28, matching the convex seat 14, is provided on the end of sleeve 26. A tapered tube 30, preferably of mild steel, is welded to the outside of sleeves 22 and 26, a cut out 32 preferably being provided on sleeve 22 for receiving the fur- 3,031,178 Patented Apr. 24, 1962 nace end of the tube 30. An opening 34 is provided in the tube 30 to permit charging of space 36 between tubes 18 and 30 with light weight insulation 37, such as vermiculite. The opening 34 is closed in any suitable manner, such as by welding a plug therein, after the space 36 is filled with insulation. Four equally spaced angle irons 38, preferably made of mild steel, have their legs welded to the tube 30 along the length thereof. The angle irons 38 serve as reinforcement and also aid in protecting the blowpipe from damage when it is dropped. When the blowpipe 12 is in place the lowest angle iron may be slightly displaced to one side of the veitical plane through the center of the blowpipe as shown in FIGURE 1 in order to obtain greater clearance for the tuyere cooling water pipes.

FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 show a modified blowpipe 40 of slightly different construction. In this embodiment an inner tube 42, preferably of stainless steel, and an outer tube 44, preferably of mild steel, extend between L- shaped end pieces 46 and 48, preferably made of cast steel. End piece 46 is located at the furnace end of the blowpipe and has a spherical convex surface 50 matching concave surface 8, a reduced diameter portion 52 on its inner surface for receiving tube 42 and a reduced diameter portion 54 on its outer surface for receiving tube 44. End piece 48 has a spherical concave surface 56 matching convex surface 14, a reduced diameter portion 58 on its inner surface for receiving tube 42 and a reduced diameter portion 60 on its outer surface for receiving tube 44. Four bolt holes 62 and 64 are provided in end piece 46 and 48, respectively, for receiving the ends of shoulder bolts 66. A hole 68 is provided in tube 44 to permit charging of insulation 69 into space 70 between tubes 42 and 44. The opening '70 can be closed in any suitable manner after the insulation is in place.

In assembling the blowpipe 40, the tubes 42 and 44 and shoulder bolts 66 are placed in position on one of the end pieces 46 or 48 and the other end piece brought into position. Nuts 72 are then tightened to lock the parts in position. If desired the tubes 42 and 44 may also be welded to end pieces 46 and 48.

While two embodiments of my invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A blowpipe for insertion between the tuyere and penstock flange of a blast furnace comprising a stainless steel inner tube, a mild steel outer tube surrounding said inner tube in spaced relationship therewith, a ferrous metal end piece at each end of said tubes extending from said inner tube to said outer tube and closing the ends thereof, the outer surface of the end piece adjacent said tuyere tapering inwardly toward the tuyere end thereof, means connecting each of said tubes to each of said end pieces, insulation in the space between said tubes, and reinforcing members extending longitudinally of said blowpipe and fastened to said outer tube in spaced relationship around the periphery thereof.

2. A blowpipe for insertion between the tuyere and penstock flange of a blast furnace, said tuyere having a concave surface for receiving one end of said blowpipe and said penstock flange having a convex surface for receiving the other end of said blowpipe, said blowpipe comprising a stainless steel inner tube, a mild steel outer tube surrounding said inner tube in spaced relationship therewith, a ferrous metal end piece at each end of said tubes extending from said inner tube to said outer tube and closing the ends thereof, one of said end pieces having a convex surface for insertion into the concave surface of said tuyere and the other end piece having a concave surface for insertion into the convex surface of 4 said penstock flange, the outer surface of the end piece References Cited in the file of this patent adjacent said tuyere tapering inwardly toward the tuyere end thereof, means connecting each of said tubes to each UNITED STATES PATENTS of said end pieces, insulation in the space between said 2,023,025 McKee Dec. 3, 1935 tubes, and reinforcing members extending longitudinally 5 of said blowpipe and fastened to said outer tube in spaced FOREIGN PATENTS relationship around the periphery thereof. 235,316 Great Britain June 15, 1925 

